Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun

Japan's groundless accusations and malicious smears against China's legitimate national defense development are egregious and despicable, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday in response to Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi's claims that China's military expenditure had grown sevenfold over two decades and its growth rate in the past three years had also significantly exceeded Japan's. Guo said that Japan, a nation with a severe record of aggression, has no right whatsoever to make irresponsible remarks.

Guo added that on issues of peace and security, China has the best record among major countries in the world. The growth of China's defense budget is reasonable and lawful, serving not only the needs of addressing security challenges and safeguarding the country's legitimate interests but also to better fulfill China's international responsibilities and obligations as a major country, he said.

Japan's military and security moves have consistently drawn attention from its Asian neighbors and the international community due to its notorious history of aggression marked by indelible crimes, said Guo. 

He added that in the 2025 fiscal year, Japan's per capita defense spending and per capita expenditure per defense personnel were approximately three times and more than twice that of China, respectively. In recent years, Japan has significantly adjusted its security policy, with its defense budget increasing for 13 consecutive years and surging by about 60 percent over the past five years.

Japan has also unilaterally loosened restrictions on the exercise of collective self-defense, developed the so-called "enemy base strike capability," revised its principles on arms exports, strengthened extended deterrence cooperation, and plotted to amend its Three Non-Nuclear Principles, the spokesperson said.

Guo said that while Japan claims it sticks to an exclusively defense-oriented and passive defense posture, its actions have repeatedly betrayed the obligations clearly stipulated for it as a defeated nation under the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, and have contravened its own commitments under Japan's Constitution.

"Who is truly expanding military power and building up armaments? Who is attempting to interfere in other countries' internal affairs by force and challenge their core interests? Who is threatening regional peace and stability? The facts are crystal clear, and justice resides in the hearts of the people," Guo noted.

Japan's accelerated attempt to remilitarize will only trigger renewed doubts about its future direction. All peace-loving countries should remain highly vigilant, resolutely oppose any dangerous moves to revive Japanese militarism, and will join hands to uphold the hard-won outcomes of victory in World War II, the spokesperson added.


Global Times